Developing policy for restricting plastic bag use

The Queensland Government had committed to investigating restrictions on single-use plastic bags. Banning bags had long been advocated by environment groups, to reduce litter and protect wildlife. Four states had bans in place, but previous Queensland efforts were abortive.

Scott Losee Consulting collaborated with the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP) team to engage peak stakeholders across environment groups, academia and business. Scott briefed the minister, produced a discussion paper, facilitated the stakeholder forum, convened bilateral meetings, analysed consultation results and drafted a public information paper.

Scott’s involvement allowed EHP to work more at arm’s-length, encouraging stakeholders to contribute their perspectives. By outsourcing part of the policy activity, EHP was able to continue momentum on the issue despite competing policy demands. The minister is now liaising with his inter-state counterparts over a policy to ban singlet-style shopping bags and promote voluntary reductions of department store bags.